BLM> "Object Oriented Programming" is mostly hype first of all.
 Well, there certainly is a lot of hype presented about OOP.  But I
 find a lot of use for OO techniques.  I've found that OOP is especially
 useful for *large*, multi-programmer projects.
 BLM> I have
 BLM> never seen a clear definition of object oriented programming.  If it 
 BLM> was a tangible thing I think somebody would be able to provide a
 BLM> basic  description of it.
 It's a pretty complex subject.  There are some decent tutorials in the
 book stores.  There are some especially good books that use C++ as their
 example language when discussing OO ideas.
 BLM> As far as I can tell it is simply a way of
 BLM> protecting  data by making sure that only code within  an "object" can
 BLM> access the  data that is within the same "object".
 That's "encapsulation".  One of the advantages to using a language that
 supports OOP is built-in support for encapsulation.  "Good C programmers"
 have been doing it for years.  But C++ let's you do it a whole lot easier
 and a whole lot more effectively.
 BLM> I'm sure there are
 BLM> other features  that I'm missing
 The other two "major" features of OOP are "polymorphism" and
 "inheritance".  If you're interested we can discuss them in some
 future message.
 BLM>  but as nobody seems willing to
 BLM> volunteer anything other  than, "What's object oriented programming? 
 BLM> That's a very complex  question."
 Well, it *IS* a complex question!!
 BLM> Classes are the basic building blocks of C++ programs just as
 BLM> functions  are the basic building blocks of C programs. 
 BLM> Classes are just like structs EXCEPT classes can contain code as well
 BLM> as  data. 
 BLM> You can de/allocate classes just as you can de/allocate structs. 
 BLM> If you understand classes, you understand alot of C++.
 It looks like you've got encapsulation down!  But we can do some neat
 things with those classes.  We can derive new classes and inherit
 base class behavior.  (Maybe we won't have to rewrite so much code!!)
 We can design systems that can accept a variety of objects, maybe even
 objects we don't yet know exist.
 There's a whole lot more to OOP than simply restricting access to
 an objects methods and data.
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